Thomas was an unassuming man. Well, sort of, as unassuming as anybody else. He assumed a lot of things, many of them entirely false. But he guessed that’s what made him human. Some days he traveled back in time, revisiting the events of his life, but they never seemed quite the same. The world according to Thomas, he mused, was created and destroyed in mere moments, only to be created anew again the next time his mind traveled backward.

People, politics, civilizations, poems, philosophies POOF! They came and went like will-o-wisps. Like Jude, he began to feel obscure. Outdated and outmoded in a society of quickly rising, fast burning stars. Throw-away beauties and throw-away politics, and throw-away philosophy. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. But, that’s never how it went, not in the world according to Thomas. Hell, not in the world according to anybody. There was never reduction. Only production, and not even by the people who promoted the whole thing. It was shipped off, shipped out. Made cheaper, Made in China ®. Leaden toys, oil spills. Produce. Produce. Produce. It wasn’t a triangle, just a line. No starting, no stopping. Then what?

Then he’d move on. POOF! Another throw-away thought, another throw-away philosophy. It isn’t quite cynicism, though, he imagined. No, the cynics just say everything sucks. And it doesn’t all suck. There’s just no changing anything. Some new bills here, a new president there, but it’s all really the same. It’s not cynicism, but helplessness. Confusion. POOF! Another freedom gone, another Facebook private message made public. Another judge taking kickbacks for imprisoning children. His friends and coworkers branded him with a big scarlet A. Not that “A.” That one was for adultery, which had become another throw-away philosophy, another throw-away marriage, another throw-away wife POOF! No, this “A” was for apathy. But that wasn’t quite it either. The world according to Thomas had problems! The apathetic don’t admit to problems, why bother? No, not apathy. Something else. Then what?

Then he’d move on. POOF! Another throw-away debate. Another throw-away hung parliament. Another throw-away pundit. Pundits sure aren’t very punny. Another throw-away joke. The problem in the world according to Thomas was that people thought too much. Well, sort of. People thought about which angle would be best for Facebook and which friends could see what, and OH MY GOD, did you see what happened to Tiger Woods? Another throw-away news story. Another throw-away anchor. Take a swim with Edna, take a deep breath. Then what?

Then he’d move on. POOF! See, the will-o-wisps weren’t always so bad, just sometimes there were more, sometimes less. It’s their way, he supposed. Some of them true, some of them not. Everybody had them, he figured. Figured that’s what made him human. Somewhere deep, he felt it all would work out someway or other. Maybe never be the same as it used to be, but figured that’s okay too. The world according to Thomas had changed quite a bit as his memories flashed in and out of existence. Figured it always had. Always wood. Then POOF! He’d move on. Another throw-away blog. Another throw-away idea. Another throw-away story. POOF! There goes the world according to Thomas.